Going on safari

by Jillian @ http://blueshelled.com . June 28, 2010 . 5:20PM

I’m an adventurer. Just this week I’ve been on a safari and went to the beach.

I’ve never been out of the continental U.S. and I’ve been spending the better part of the month in my bedroom. Maybe my way of travel isn’t yours, but for me, it’s necessary and it helps. For the majority of my life, I’ve been a voracious reader and have had a pretty decent imagination. There have never been the time or the funds for me to actually go anywhere worth really digging into, but I can read about places and, in my mind, I have been there.

Lately, that has saved my bacon in so many ways. Southwest.com has a schtick that says “wanna get away?” Yes, I do! Oh, I do! A break, yes please! Right now, though, I’m moving quickly nowhere. But, in this room, I’m going many places.

As adults, we often turn off our imaginations and suppress our pretend-o-meters (yes, I know it’s not a real word, but please stay with me). And, yet, in the back of our minds, there is still the capacity for childlike joy in sheet forts and paper hats and closed eye pretend travel. So, I needed a break.

When I woke up, I was going on Safari. It is supernaturally hot in Nashville this time of year. My bedroom is on the second floor of the house and my ceiling fan runs 24/7 to help keep my room ventilated. My white noise machine was on and the gentle breeze blowing across my face felt good.

Suddenly, I was on Safari and staying in my Safari housing. It was so hot outside that the animals weren’t coming out. The palm fan was blowing a gentle breeze across my face as my hair gently caressed my ears and a small fly landed on my shoulder. I softly brushed it away and hugged my pillow tighter as I thought about what was going on in my home across the ocean…

the ocean…

I turned the lamp next to me on full blast next to my face and turned the white noise machine on to “ocean waves” and suddenly I was at the beach. If you close your eyes you can almost hear sea gulls. The power of imagination is strong when you focus on it. The lamp next to me mimicked the sun so strongly I wanted to pull the covers over my head because it was hurting my eyes.

It relaxed me.

The imagination we gain as children never goes away. We put it on a shelf and pull it out as grandparents so we can play in those sheet forts or play water guns properly or tell stories that make little ones truly believe that there is magic in the air.

Sometimes, as adults, we need to believe in magic, too.

Stress is off the table. Or is it?

by Jillian @ http://blueshelled.com . October 7, 2009 . 12:46PM

You guys know that the migraines have been kicking me to the curb lately. My doctor just flat out told me that, should I continue to stress out the way that I do, I will continue to have these and that I essentially have to change who I am for a little bit so my body can heal for a while.

Change who I am? Not get stuff done early? Procrastinate ON PURPOSE? I’m writing this blog over the weekend. I don’t procrastinate. That’s not what I do.

Be a little reckless. Do things I don’t normally do. Release the tension.

I have no idea how to not be high-strung, but I’m up for opinions.

Let’s also factor in the idea that mid-terms is in a couple of weeks and my diligence is of utmost importance during this time of year. However, I was reminded by her that if I have the kind of migraines I get, I can’t study, let alone drive to go to school, work, or practicum.

Frackingstackingsonofamonkeyloving.

You get where I’m going.

I need to destress.

And I need to do it now.

And I need to do it quickly.

Because I must get back to my old self as quickly as possible.

I may have missed the point.

Sunday How-to: Never be bored at work

by Jillian @ http://blueshelled.com . August 23, 2009 . 9:59AM

Some people, like my husband, like to fidget. If you get him a paperclip he can hold in his hand, he will drive you crazy with it by manipulating it for hours while you attempt to talk to him or get his attention. It’s how he rolls.

It’s also how some of you roll and a reason why Mondays are so hard for some of you. Mondays require attention on a day you’d rather have second Sunday. So, I found this amazing little how-to that you can put together on first-Sunday to make second Sunday a little brighter. Let me know how it goes.